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Heart Failure: From Molecular Basis to Therapeutic Strategies

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2024) | Viewed by 2080

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Interests: molecular and clinical cardiology; new approaches for treatment of cardiovascular diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The molecular complexity of heart failure has dramatically increased since introducing the latest classification of preserved and reduced ejection fractions (HFpEF and HFrEF). Indeed, these two entities present different physiopathological mechanisms that are far from being elucidated. Understanding heart failure’s molecular mechanisms and providing deep phenotyping are crucial for developing novel and effective therapeutic strategies. In particular, HFpEF appears to be strictly related to cardiac metabolic remodeling and altered substrate utilization, leading to deficient energy production. This Special Issue aims to explore the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of heart failure, evaluating the roles of various cellular and molecular players, including cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, inflammatory mediators, and signaling cascades. Moreover, emerging therapeutic strategies, spanning from traditional pharmacological interventions to innovative gene- and cell-based therapies, will be considered.

Dr. Michele Ciccarelli
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • heart failure
  • cardiac metabolism
  • mitochondria
  • inflammatory pathway
  • neurohormonal system
  • therapeutical strategies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 6001 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Assay Development to Study Pulse Field Ablation Outcome Using Solanum Tuberosum
by Akshay Narkar, Abouzar Kaboudian, Yasaman Ardershirpour, Maura Casciola, Tromondae K. Feaster and Ksenia Blinova
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8967; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168967 - 17 Aug 2024
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Abstract
Exposing cells to intense and brief electric field pulses can modulate cell permeability, a phenomenon termed electroporation. When applied in medical treatments of diseases like cancer and cardiac arrhythmias, depending on level of cellular destruction, it is also referred to as irreversible electroporation [...] Read more.
Exposing cells to intense and brief electric field pulses can modulate cell permeability, a phenomenon termed electroporation. When applied in medical treatments of diseases like cancer and cardiac arrhythmias, depending on level of cellular destruction, it is also referred to as irreversible electroporation (IRE) or Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA). For ablation device testing, several pulse parameters need to be characterized in a comprehensive manner to assess lesion boundary and efficacy. Overly aggressive voltages and application numbers increase animal burden. The potato tuber is a widely used initial model for the early testing of electroporation. The aim of this study is to characterize and refine bench testing for the ablation outcomes of PFA in this simplistic vegetal model. For in vitro assays, several pulse parameters like voltage, duration, and frequency were modulated to study effects not only on 2D ablation area but also 3D depth and volume. As PFA is a relatively new technology with minimal thermal effects, we also measured temperature changes before, during, and after ablation. Data from experiments were supplemented with in silico modeling to examine E-field distribution. We have estimated the irreversible electroporation threshold in Solanum Tuberosum to be at 240 V/cm. This bench testing platform can screen several pulse recipes at early stages of PFA device development in a rapid and high-throughput manner before proceeding to laborious trials for IRE medical devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure: From Molecular Basis to Therapeutic Strategies)
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7 pages, 1639 KiB  
Communication
Epstein-Barr Virus Lytic Transcripts Correlate with the Degree of Myocardial Inflammation in Heart Failure Patients
by Christian Baumeier, Dominik Harms, Britta Altmann, Ganna Aleshcheva, Gordon Wiegleb, Thomas Bock, Felicitas Escher and Heinz-Peter Schultheiss
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(11), 5845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25115845 - 28 May 2024
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Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is frequently found in endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) from patients with heart failure, but the detection of EBV-specific DNA has not been associated with progressive hemodynamic deterioration. In this paper, we investigate the use of targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to [...] Read more.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is frequently found in endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) from patients with heart failure, but the detection of EBV-specific DNA has not been associated with progressive hemodynamic deterioration. In this paper, we investigate the use of targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect EBV transcripts and their correlation with myocardial inflammation in EBV-positive patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Forty-four HFrEF patients with positive EBV DNA detection and varying degrees of myocardial inflammation were selected. EBV-specific transcripts from EMBs were enriched using a custom hybridization capture-based workflow and, subsequently, sequenced by NGS. The short-read sequencing revealed the presence of EBV-specific transcripts in 17 patients, of which 11 had only latent EBV genes and 6 presented with lytic transcription. The immunohistochemical staining for CD3+ T lymphocytes showed a significant increase in the degree of myocardial inflammation in the presence of EBV lytic transcripts, suggesting a possible influence on the clinical course. These results imply the important role of EBV lytic transcripts in the pathogenesis of inflammatory heart disease and emphasize the applicability of targeted NGS in EMB diagnostics as a basis for specific treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure: From Molecular Basis to Therapeutic Strategies)
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